Soul Guardian-Chapter 3Book 2: : Empty Cages
The inner sanctuary seemed to be abandoned. Six had expected to see magical creatures gnawing at the bars of their enclosures, or fighting against the wards that contained them. Instead all she found were dull gray hallways and empty cages. Some of the cages were quite large, but they were still very definitely empty.
All and all, Forgotten Familiars had thus far proved to be a bit of a letdown. Besides her run-in with the snake, Six hadn’t encountered a single magical creature since she arrived. And if the young witch was being completely honest, she didn’t know if the tiny reptile in her pocket even qualified. It certainly didn’t seem like anything special. But then again, looks could be deceiving when magic was involved.
She pulled out the creature in question to take a closer look. The tiny snake flicked his tongue out at her, wiggled around a bit, then curled up in a circle and went back to sleep. Six was too big for him to eat, and thus the beast was uninterested. The young witch would have to come back when she was smaller, or he was bigger. Either would be equally acceptable. But until then, the beast would slumber.
After carefully inspecting the sleeping creature, Six concluded that it was just a garden variety snake. Or possibly a garden snake. Either way, it didn’t seem particularly magical, which was probably for the best. She didn’t want to accidentally unleash the apocalypse.
Six put the snake back in her pocket for safekeeping and continued deeper into the sanctuary. She still wasn’t completely sold on the idea of acquiring a familiar. Six had only gone along with Titan’s plan because she wanted to check out the sanctuary. After all, it wasn’t like there were many magical petting zoos. Though if there were, Six was definitely going to make a point of visiting all of them.
She made a mental note to ask her father about any other potential places they should check out. Bael would be overjoyed at the chance to spend some quality time with his daughter, and she would get to pet cool critters. That was a win-win in her book.
If Six played her cards right, their little father-daughter field-trip might even give her an excuse to skip school. Not that she disliked going to school, per se. Six absorbed information like a sponge, and having educated adults just waiting around to answer her questions was a dream come true. But spending so much time with her peers was exhausting, and she could use a break from all the nonsense.
The young witch let out a sigh. Spending her early years with the cult had put her at a distinct disadvantage socially, and she knew that being around other children was supposed to be good for her. Six had read numerous studies on the subject, and they all agreed that learning to form positive relationships with her peers was crucial for emotional development. But there was a difference between knowing something on an intellectual level, and actually trying to put it into practice.
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A part of her suspected that she would never be fully comfortable around kids her own age, no matter how hard she tried. Six was just too different, and pretending to be normal made her feel like a robot, or an alien creature waiting to be dissected. She didn’t belong, and the stress of keeping up the act was draining her dry.
Half of the time when the other students talked to her she wondered if they were setting her up for some cruel prank, which was part of why Six preferred to stay in the library during lunch break. Avoiding the other children was easier than risking any potentially negative social interactions. And it certainly took a lot less energy.
As Six traveled deeper into the abandoned sanctuary, she found herself wondering if getting a familiar might help ease some of the burden. Six had always preferred animals over people anyway, and it wasn’t like she could bring Titan with her to school. The teachers had been very clear about that.
Perhaps I could get some kind of emotional-support familiar, the young witch thought, Something small so I can take it with me to class.
Her familiar would always be there to comfort her if she got overwhelmed. It could be her lifeline if things got tough, a little friend she could carry with her wherever she went. Six found the idea rather appealing, now that she had given it a bit more thought. But things weren’t that simple. There were other factors to consider.
Finding a suitable familiar and bonding with it was supposed to be an important milestone for any young witch. And while the idea of progressing in her craft appealed to Six, she still thought that using a magical creature as a glorified fuse-box was highly unethical.
Sure, they might be willing to sacrifice themselves to keep her safe. But was a familiar smart enough to understand what they were signing up for? And if they were, didn’t that somehow make the situation even worse? Could she really ask an intelligent creature to risk its life for her?
Six’s moral crisis was interrupted when Titan nudged her in the back of the knee with his nose. It was cold, wet, and thoroughly unpleasant. “Hey!” she called out, “What was that for?”
Titan did his best to look innocent. “I WAS MERELY TAKING THE CHANCE TO CHECK ANOTHER ITEM OFF MY LIST. HOW WOULD YOU RATE IT ON A SCALE OF ONE TO TEN?”
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The young witch glared at her protector in mock annoyance, but she couldn’t stay mad at him. “Come on,” Six called out, patting her leg to get the hellhound’s attention, “There’s nothing here but a bunch of empty cages.”
“HOW STRANGE,” Titan said as he fell into step next to her. “PERHAPS THEY MOVED THE CREATURES IN ORDER TO DO RENOVATIONS?”
“That, or they escaped.” Six shrugged and kept walking. “Either way, it’s not our problem. They were gone long before we got here.”
